Only two more audition shows left on American Idol before we can finally move on to the Hollywood Round. At least, that’s what the FOX website now says. And no one is happier about that development than I am.

But before we celebrate too much, Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler make their way to the northwest side of the country to take on Portland, Oregon. Will the next American Idol come from this crop of contestants?

Join me after the jump as I live blog tonight’s Portland auditions. And chat with other American Idol fans during the show in our Shoutbox.

NOTE: DJSlim will be doing a limited live blog on tonight’s American Idol auditions over at our sister site, IdolBlogLive.com. Check it out for another viewpoint of tonight’s show.

Ryan Seacrest opens tonight’s American Idol by telling us that it is the show’s first trip to Oregon. He says Portland is an ecclectic city and that there is no telling what they will find there tonight. I wonder if that is code speak for “it’s all bad auditions tonight, folks.”

Ryan says that everyone in this crowd (as the camera pans over the initial stadium audition) has a story to tell. We are then introduced to Brittany Zika, who had a dream of performing on stage with Sarah Bareilles. The show doesn’t mention that Sarah is a judge on The Sing-Off (why would they), but Brittany goes on and on and on talking about Sarah. When she enters the Judges’ Room, she trips, and Steven Tyler asks, “Are you falling over me?” He then says, “I’m too young to be this old.” Brittany impresses the judges with her voice. They say she sounds better than she looks. She takes off her glasses, saying she doesn’t look as nerdy with them off. Steven, at least, seems to agree. Either way, she gets three yeses for her efforts.

18-year-old Ben Perdum is up next, and he’s not feeling that great today. So far, he has burped on camera, blown his nose on camera, and coughed on camera. Why would the show say there is something wrong with that? I do that all the time on the Idol Radio Show. What I don’t do on the radio show is sing, something that Ben probably should have adopted from me. He sings Lady GagGag’s “Born This Way,” claiming first that he once sang for his co-workers and they encouraged him to audition. With co-workers like that, he might want to look for another job. Ben maintains that he sounds better when he’s not sick. Maybe he will try out again in another year to prove himself right.

Jermaine Jones is up next. Jermaine says that music is his life: he eats it, breathes it, sleeps it, etc. He also says he’s a momma’s boy, which may not be a good thing because mom’s of momma’s boys often don’t like to tell their boys the truth about their singing. Or they’re just flat out tone deaf and don’t know any different. Randy asks Jermaine how tall he is, and he replies that he is 6’8-1/2″ (and DON’T take away that 1/2 from him). Jermaine has a low voice. Not as low as Scotty McCreery’s, but still low. It’s kind of in a weird spot down there, though. Not low enough for me to like it, not high enough, in my opinion, to be able to handle bigger music. Sir Darryl won’t like him, either, because he is sweating all over the place. The judges like him, though, and that’s all that matters. Three yeses and he’s on his way to sweat some more in Hollywood.

Day 2 already in Portland, Oregon. Jennifer Lopez has a wardrobe malfunction and needs some black tights in order to start the day. Once black tights have been procured, the day starts with Britnee Kellogg. She has a large group of supporters with her, all wearing gray shirts with pink hearts on them. She also has two adorable kids, one of whom tells everyone in the room that his mom will be the next American Idol. Britnee tells the judges that she is single because her ex-husband decided to chase other women after she had supported his dream of becoming a basketball player. She sings “You’re No Good,” which in no way describes her voice. She is a good singer and deservedly gets three yeses. Her kids, and entire support staff, comes into the room after the yeses while Jennifer gives Britnee advice on how to be a mom and chase her dream of being a singer.

Sam Gershman is up next. Steven likes what he sees, so his mind might already be made up. Which is a shame, cause she butchers the song “I’m a Woman.” Where is Melinda Doolittle when you need her. Steven asks Sam if she could “be any more perky,” then says she could make a great Easter Bunny. She responds that she is Jewish. The judges try to encourage her while letting her down. Steven looks at Sam’s butt as she walks out the door.

David Weed is up next, and Randy immediately asks if “Weed” is really his last name. Come on, Randy. Grow up. David works at a fast food restaurant and hates it. He wants out badly. He is singing “Tom Sawyer” by Rush. This would be the point where I tell him not to quit his day job, no matter how badly he wants to quit. Randy asks David what his dream other than singing is. David says he wants to be a stand-up comic. He bombs there as well. Ugh.

Romeo Diahn tries to turn things around for the judges, but not before telling his story. He is from Liberia, living in a refugee camp after war broke out over there. He says he never thought he would make it out of the country because of all the people he saw perish. But he did make it out, and it’s a good thing because he has a good voice. The judges are eating him up. One of Romeo’s friends outside asks Ryan, “Who are you?” Talk about lightening the mood up. Jennifer is worried that Romeo won’t be able to handle the bigger songs, but says yes anyone, as do the other two judges.

22-year-old Naomi Gillies is up next, and wants to sing one of Steven Tyler’s songs: “Cryin’.” I’m not blown away by Naomi’s voice, but it seems good enough to go through to Hollywood Week. Better than many of the other contestants the judges have sent through. And the judges do send her through.

Ryan says that for the next two hours, though, no one made it through. We don’t hear any of them singing, just some of the judges’ comments. Some of them seem to have just missed making it. Others never had a shot in the first place, no matter how many times they tried to do a cartwheel.

28-year-old Ben Harrison is going to try to turn things around. First of all, it should be noted that Ben doesn’t look 28. He barely looks 18. Secondly, he says he’s adorable. If by adorable he means annoying in an extremely excruciating way, then I agree. Ben says he’s been in a lot of bands, but end up cutting him loose because of his baby face. He is singing “Somebody to Love” by Queen, and I immediately reply to the TV that nobody will be loving him after that. Hopefully he will realize that it’s not only his baby face looks keeping him out of bands. Ugh.

Jessica Phillips is the last auditioner of the day. And she has a sob story to end all sob stories. Her boyfriend, Angelo, has been with her for five years. Last Easter Sunday, Angelo had a stroke. When he finally woke up after the stroke, Angelo had no idea who Jessica was. They are still together, though, as she takes care of him and works to help him recover from the stroke. American Idol has to use subtitles when Angelo talks because he is very difficult to understand. Jessica is singing “Again” by Faith Hill. She starts out rough, but seems to recover a little bit as she goes. I see talent there, but singing a-capella just isn’t Jessica’s thing. Hopefully she will be much better in Hollywood, cause she gets three yeses. And I’m happy for her. There is talent there, so I’ll be interested in seeing how far she gets.

Ryan tells us that 45 people got tickets to Hollywood in Portland, Oregon. I wasn’t overly impressed with who we saw make it tonight, so hopefully the ones we didn’t see will be better and worth the time they will be investing.

So what did you think of tonight’s show? Did American Idol show enough good auditions and/or bad auditions? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

And don’t forget to join me for the Idol Radio Show tonight at 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT as we talk about tonight’s American Idol auditions, The Voice and The X Factor news, and anything else in the entertainment industry that needs to be discussed. Simply click the “Listen Live” banner in the right column when the show starts.